WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Power Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), today passed two resolutions, H.J. Res 71 and H.J. Res 72, disapproving of two final rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for new and existing power plants. The resolutions would provide for Congressional disapproval of each rule, and that the rules shall have no force or effect.
Through their unprecedented regulations, EPA is seeking to fundamentally change the way electricity is generated, distributed, and consumed in the United States. The economic costs far out-weigh the environmental benefits and as a result Chairman Whitfield introduced the two resolutions under the Congressional Review Act in an effort to protect grid reliability and ratepayers around the country from higher electricity prices. Additionally, these resolutions protect states and their citizens from having to implement a highly complex, intrusive, and unworkable regulatory cap and trade scheme.
Chairman Whitfield stated, “These rules will produce not only higher electric rates, but also pose threats to electricity reliability and result in a substantial loss of jobs. In my view, the discrepancy between what EPA is trying to do and what the Clean Air Act actually allows is so wide that these resolutions are appropriate. More than half the states in the country have already filed legal challenges to the rule for existing plants and this extraordinary level of opposition is telling given that EPA claims they collaborated with the states. These resolutions of disapproval offer an opportunity to restore the rule of law and protect ratepayers across the country."
Full Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) concluded, “Affordable and reliable electricity in our country is under assault. The resolutions considered today represent an important part of this committee’s longstanding and ongoing efforts to protect jobs and affordable energy from this administration’s expansive regulatory agenda. Congress wisely rejected cap and trade in 2010 and those rules are just as ill advised today as they were five years ago. The resolutions are ultimately about protecting hard-working people from higher electricity prices, threats to grid reliability, and EPA’s economy wide energy tax."
For a fact sheet on the resolutions, click here. Related Items
* Congressional Review Act Resolutions H.J. Res. 71 and H.J. Res. 72
* Whitfield To Introduce Cap and Trade Congressional Review Act Resolutions MONDAY
* Whitfield Introduces Congressional Review Act Resolutions to Protect Jobs from EPA Overreach
* Congressional Review Act Resolutions to Fight Administration's Cap and Trade Assault
See Also
* E&C Advances Two Resolutions to Keep Electricity Affordable and Reliable
* ICYMI: "Gambling the World Economy on Climate"
* Letters of Support for HJ Res 71 & 72
